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(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Economic Development Department, Human Services Department and the State Department of Public Education.

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

HJM 64 requests a feasibility study on establishing a central information and referral system that could be accessed statewide by dialing 211 or through the Internet. Information and referrals on education, housing, health, welfare, economic development, and other subjects would be available to the general public. The telecommunications bureau of the utility division of the public regulation commission would lead the study.

Significant Issues

Large complex businesses that have well developed and managed web-based information systems have significantly reduced contact time and increased customer satisfaction. Employing "intelligent" search engines and data bases on a comprehensive web-site would help the State of New Mexico increase it's knowledge management and be more responsive to the citizens of the state.

According to the Human Services Department, one issue that would need to be addressed in this study is the potential legal liability for incorrect, ill-advised, or missing information provided by the service.

According to the Department of Education, the federal government has set aside the number 211 to be used for information and referral. A 211 information and referral system would cross traditional political and geographic boundaries.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The implementation and maintenance of a comprehensive web-site would be expensive. Easily into the millions of dollars per year. However, the reduction in costs associated with paper applications, information mailings, contact time, efficient research and efficient communication between agencies, among other benefits, would significantly outweigh the operational costs.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

According to the Department of Economic Development, this bill would have the short term administrative impact of burdening utility division employees with the cost of conducting a feasibility study. It would have the long term impact of the possible creation of the information system with all of its subsequent management, infrastructure, and maintenance.

According to the Human Services Department The study contemplated in HJM 64 should be led by the Information Technology Commission or the Information Technology Management Office with the help and guidance of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The Department of Education suggests, adding the "department of education" on line 15, page 2.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Obstacles to over come in implementating a possible goal of a comprehensive web-based citizen/government interface would be the issues of security and privacy.

According to the Department of Economic Development, the consequence of not enacting this bill will be that certain information that would otherwise have been collecting into a single clearinghouse will remain either scattered or, in some cases, entirely uncollected.

According to the Department of Economic Development, due to its potential to make available valuable data to New Mexicans and to businesses looking at relocating to the state, the economic development department supports the bill.

According to the Human Services Department, work that has already begun to provide Internet access to a statewide central information and referral system would continue.

PD/njw